


A Moment of Selfishness

by Varmint



Category: Hunter X Hunter
Genre: Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Alternate Universe - Soulmates, Crack Treated Seriously, Fluff and Crack, Light Angst, M/M, One Shot, Rare Pairings, Red String of Fate
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-09-17
Updated: 2020-09-17
Packaged: 2021-03-07 19:54:20
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,286
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/26503234
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Varmint/pseuds/Varmint
Summary: Knuckle had always been eager to find his soulmate. He was just kind of disheartened when he found his other half in the middle of the most dangerous time of his life. One-shot! AU! Rare-pair, of course, because I'm myself.
Relationships: Knuckle Bine/Menthuthuyoupi (Hunter x Hunter)
Comments: 4
Kudos: 12





	A Moment of Selfishness

**Author's Note:**

> A/N: It's been a while since I watched Hunter x Hunter with my sister (we started around the time quarantine did and we finished well before this day). So information may be incorrect or inaccurate... but that's okay because this is an AU fanfic!
> 
> Please, enjoy my rare ship. Youpi was my fav Chimera Ant and Knuckle is my favorite Jokoyazu character (Josuke and Okuyasu from Jojo- but fused together). I offer this insane ship to this fandom with my heart on a platter.
> 
> Enjoy~

No... there was no way...

Knuckle's eyes widened and his grip around Meleoron loosened ever so slightly. Immediately the chameleon-like Chimera Ant tightened his grip around Knuckle's neck, reminding him that he needed to be incredibly careful and keep a hold of him if they wanted the plan to survive first contact with their enemy.

He couldn't believe it...

He didn't _want_ to believe it...

But he couldn't ignore what was directly _in front of his face_. The red string of fate that was now sprouting from his left breast was directly tied to another person.

All of his life, Knuckle had wondered who his soulmate would be. He had fantasized quite a few times about who his perfect other half would be- a fiery personality with a nice face had been all he had wound up settling on as necessary. Early on he had learned that the shape of the body wasn't what mattered. All he truly cared for was the kindness within his soulmate's heart.

When he had been younger, he had been impatient to meet his other half. He had gone around, when he was some six or seven years old, hugging other kids he liked at random in the hopes that one of them would be his soulmate. In his school days he had earned a reputation for hugging because of that. Eventually he had come to learn that he couldn't force fate into action and he just needed to wait patiently- eventually he would find his soulmate, just like everyone around him.

Now... now he wanted to go back in time and change _anything_ just so he _wouldn't_ meet his soulmate... a life without a second half would have been much more agreeable than a life in which he knew that his soulmate was one of the dangerous Chimera Ants.

Youpi hadn't noticed the red string binding them together. Meleoron's invisibility must have covered even the intangible red string that connected a person to their other half; just like it covered up Knuckle's A.P.R.

_This was bad- so very bad._

But... Knuckle ground his teeth so hard it hurt as he turned around and began to run.

He had a job to do. Soulmate or not... Youpi was his enemy... and his enemy needed to be destroyed before he destroyed the world as they knew it.

* * *

"Is this part of your nen ability?"

Their plan, while it had been mostly complicated by the abruptness of their group's meeting with Youpi, had still been somewhat salvageable... if not for the fact that he had overthought the implication of one of the Ant's being his soulmate.

So now Shoot was beaten and battered in very room they had arrived into, but very much alive and with injuries that would heal, and Knuckle was facing Youpi in an open courtyard. Meleoron was hidden behind one of the far walls close to them and he had no idea where any of the members of his group were.

His heart was pounding loud within his chest and his body was tensed up and prepared for a bloody fight- but his mind was more focused on _getting through to this ant._

"No." he murmured through clenched teeth, "It's... It's the red string of fate."

Youpi's face shifted from one of eager confrontation to cautious curiosity. He didn't ask for Knuckle to explain any further, at least, not vocally. But the human could tell that from the look in his eyes, he was wondering what he was talking about.

"Have you ever heard of soulmates?" he asked. In part, he believed that the ant had never heard of such a thing before. But he wanted to make sure before he started to explain- Youpi had a temper. He didn't want to see it unleashed on him just yet; especially if it was unleashed because Knuckle had upset him by assuming he knew less than he actually did.

"Not at all." Youpi cocked his head to the side ever so slightly; it was almost imperceptible. "Is this some sort of trick?"

Immediately Knuckle shook his head.

His palms were sweaty and his heart was beating in an uncomfortable speed. Staring down this behemoth of a combatant, Knuckle knew that he stood no chance if he attempted to fight him alone... and the reason as to why he knew this wasn't because he believed he was outmatched in combat. A.P.R. was still activated, after all, and floated careless beside the red being's head.

No... he knew that if he was forced to fight his soulmate, he was going to lose because this was _his soulmate_.

He had wanted one all his life.

And now he knew it was an ant.

His soulmate was part of the King's personal guard.

His soulmate had fought Shoot and left him bruised and battered.

His soulmate... was taking the time to at least give him a conversation before they were forced to take part in a battle Knuckle knew would be one he would lose.

"Not at all." he eventually informed the ant, "A soulmate is a person's second half."

Now Youpi's eyes narrowed, a soft frown coming over his lips. If not for the fact that his body language read of complete relaxation and leisure, Knuckle would have assumed he had been bothered by the information he had offered and was preparing himself to fight.

"My other half?" he repeated softly, crossing his arms over his chest. "Is that the reason why I _don't_ feel like crushing your skull even after you interrupted my fight?"

Knuckle... cursed his heart.

The honesty in those words was so _genuine_. There was some malice to what had been said, yes, but there was also the softest bit of fondness to be found... he didn't know if it was because finding one's soulmate truly made an instantaneous connection or if it was because he was imagining it, though.

"I don't know." he answered just as honestly, shrugging slightly. "I just know that I don't want to fight you." now he breathed in, steeling his heart just in case he felt bitter rejection after he had laid his heart out bear in front of the ant. "I... I want to get to know you."

For an agonizing moment, Youpi's face blanked over, showing absolutely no emotions. His face became a stalwart stone, cold and distant, and Knuckle felt his heart begin to beat even faster.

There were rumors of deaths caused by being rejected by one's soulmate... there were even worse rumors about the afflictions to health and deep depressions one might suffer the rest of their life with if their soulmate abandoned them after they had managed to share more than just a few words.

Maybe... maybe he shouldn't have attempted to talk with the ant. Maybe he should have tried to fight him and followed the plan through; just to save himself from the pain he would undoubtedly fall to now.

Curse his compassion.

"You're not like the rest of the humans I've encountered..." eventually Youpi allowed him to know, even as his face remained a blank. "Do I feel this way because you're my soulmate?"

Knuckle bit the inside of his cheek before he shrugged yet again, "I wouldn't know. I don't know what kinds of humans you've met."

Youpi's blank stare gave way to a soft frown, "So you would stop in the middle of what is undoubtedly a harsh fight for your survival... just to have a chance to speak with me?"

Knuckle agreed with Youpi's unvoiced comment: he _was_ pretty foolish.

But all he could do was offer a small, tentative smile. "I've never had a soulmate before."

The red skinned ant took a moment to structure his thoughts in silence. Finally, he offered a small smile, albeit one with much more bite than shyness, and offered, "Alright. Let's talk for a bit; _but_ get rid of this thing first."

Knuckle knew that if Morel saw him, he would get pissed. A.P.R. was their trump card; as long as Youpi had it on him, they stood a chance.

His nen ability's physical form puffed out of existence with a smoke of clouds.

* * *

It was surreal... he was walking side-by-side with his newly found soulmate... and there was absolutely no tension between them.

"And that's why this string is attached to your heart." he finished explaining what the red string of fate meant and the beliefs behind what said red string meant to him and most of the world. "Our hearts beat to a melody unique to us."

Youpi nodded slowly as they came up to the entrance of one of the many giant halls inside of the royal compound. He then crossed his arms over his chest and lowered his head ever so slightly- it was amazing for Knuckle to think that he already knew this was the action this ant usually took when he was deep in thought.

"And this story about being able to feel each other's emotions, is it real? Can you feel what I-"

An explosion interrupted Youpi's words, causing them both to immediately run in the direction of where it had come from. Knuckle didn't know why Youpi ran; but he knew that he ran to see exactly where it occurred- just to see if it had come from any of the places where his teammates were supposed to be.

As soon as they reached the entrance of the building they were in, they were allowed to see the giant smoke cloud that formed from the explosion. And Knuckle's heart tightened at what it must have meant.

It took Youpi only a few seconds to begin to mobilize.

"Wait!" he shouted, hand reaching out blindly to grab onto Youpi's own. The ant flinched at his touch, but didn't move away immediately. "Don't go..."

Youpi's eyes narrowed at their hands; the color of their respective skins was so different that there was a definitive clashing between them. But, somehow, the difference in their skin still looked beautiful.

Knuckle recognized that cloud.

If Youpi went... tears began to fill his eyes.

Youpi frowned. "My king- he's hurt."

" _Please_."

The ant's frown deepened.

The wings that sprouted from his back were majestic and _strong_.

Knuckle's heart was caught in a vice.

* * *

The bright red of Youpi's skin clashed jarringly with his own much paler own.

Even with the difference of their skins, Knuckle couldn't help but think that their hands melded together perfectly. It truly felt as if Youpi's hand was specially crafted just so it could fit comfortably into his own.

"You really aren't like any other human I've met."

Knuckle smirked at the ant's observation after they had witnessed Gon's friend, Leorio, punching the kid's father' with a beautiful punch square to the guy's jaw.

Leorio's stance had been perfect and the show had been amazing- he wasn't sure why he was looking over at Ging with a surprised look on his face.

Huh... maybe he'd found his soulmate. The red string of fate could only properly be seen by the soulmates that were tied together; no one else could see it. If they could, Knuckle was sure that traversing the world would be much more difficult.

Humans, in Youpi's eyes, were too selfish. Their self-interest was their greatest downfall.

Youpi felt that he had betrayed everything could have ever stood for by returning to him, rather than tending to his king. There would always be a dark mark in his heart that would make him feel like a monster for having abandoned the people he loved when they had needed him most. He had never liked humanity's innate selfishness; the fact that he had indulged his own human instinct and returned to his soulmate was one that would bother him for the rest of his days.

"What can I say? You were given the best soulmate in the world."

Youpi didn't smile. His lips didn't really allow that facial expression. Smirks were usually fueled by his pride or confidence, so those were pretty common. And his frowns were powered by all of the negative emotions he had bottled up within him; along with the instinctual superiority he felt over the human race. Smiles, though... they really didn't come to him.

That didn't mean that Youpi wasn't happy, though. It just meant that he expressed his happiness in a rather unique manner.

"I better have." he huffed as shifted beside him.

There was a bit of poison to that statement; Knuckle wasn't ignorant to it. But he wasn't about to comment on it. Youpi had a right to be bitter over the way his cards had fallen- the only person he had left in his life was Knuckle now. Everyone else was dead or terrified of him... mostly dead. But at least he was alive and not dead. And Knuckle knew that Youpi knew that the greatest gift he had ever given his soulmate was _staying alive_.

"You're not half bad yourself."

Youpi's smirk made Shoot uncomfortable and the nervous male shifted away from them because of the expression. Knuckle didn't blame him and instead began to run his thumb over the knuckles of Youpi's broad fingers.

The television they stood before was now re-playing the beautiful punch to Ging's face and Youpi's smirk watered down a bit. Shoot's shoulders sagged in relief.

Knuckle didn't comment on his soulmate's actions.

All in all... Youpi wasn't the worst soulmate in the world to have been given.

And he knew, deep within his heart, that even after everything that had happened to lead them to this point in time, Youpi shared this very opinion.

**Author's Note:**

> OOC? Eh- possibly. Who cares, though? This is clearly crack treated seriously and I'm living for it.
> 
> I hope you enjoyed this one-shot!


End file.
